Glory Be

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Isaiah rushed through the doors of his home. Only taking a deep breath to calm himself as he was forced into standstill. Adelaide and David were standing in the hallway. Once probably having an important conversation, now they were just staring at Isaiah. He attempted to look presentable through the anxiety and emotion.

"Hello," He gulped.

"Hello, Isaiah," Adelaide answered, while David just stared.

"Hi..." He said again, moving out of the entrance and into the hallway. His eyes scanned for any signs of his father. That's who he needed to speak to.

"Are you alright?" Adelaide asked, "How was work?"

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be back?" David finally added.

Isaiah held back from rolling his eyes.

"Um," He let out a sigh, "The uh, Sheriff caught that outlaw. It happened right outside the Printshop. I was allowed to come home... I was hoping to talk to father. Where is he?"

That was mostly truth.

"Oh," David looked actually surprised.

"I'm glad to hear they caught that horrible outlaw," Adelaide exclaimed, "But I'm sorry you had to witness all that."

"Yes, that's... Twice now," David recounted, "Father is in the chapel." He gestured.

"Thanks, and yes, it seems I have particularly bad luck," Isaiah gulped again.

He bowed his head slightly and began walking to the chapel. The air seemed to thicken as he approached those double doors. He knew that blood stain was gone by now. They had replaced the wood. But part of him wondered if it bled back through. If it would be there again.

"Father?" Isaiah called, as he pushed through the doors.

His father had been standing by the altar. He turned sharply, but relaxed as he recognized his son.

"Yes?" He asked.

"The Sheriff has apprehended that outlaw; Falcon," He announced, still running on adrenaline, "It happened outside of the printshop. Shots were fired, and."

"Ah, so I wasn't mistaken," His father responded as he swiped up a bible.

"You heard?"

"The shots yes," He answered, "But I had decided to come here first. Just in case we had a similar situation to last time."

Isaiah felt numb at the reminder. Although oddly comforted, knowing his father felt just as uneased as he did. It wasn't natural for those things to happen under this roof. It was unheard of.

"That's," Isaiah nervously clasped his hands, "That's nice."

"My duty, that's all," He said, "Well I suppose I should get going down to the Sheriff then. To speak to this outlaw."

"May I come?" Isaiah asked.

His father's eyebrows shot up.

"You wish to?"

"Yes, well," Isaiah paused, "It was an impactful night. Remember? I think it would be insightful to hear what they have to say."

"Well..." His father muttered, "I suppose there's no reason not to have you come along. It'll be good experience for you," He nodded, "Come along quickly." He said as he walked to the door.